Carambola Beach Resort St Croix US Virgin Islands

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1654 reviews

• 

  Beautiful Location, But the Resort Has Seen Better Days

  What We Loved: From the moment we arrived, the staff — including the front gate security and front desk — were welcoming and kind. Our room wasn’t quite ready despite a late arrival around 5:00 PM, but the friendliness helped ease the wait. Breakfast was a highlight each morning, thanks especially to the cook preparing omelets fresh to order with a great attitude. The resort itself is peaceful and quiet, making it easy to sleep in. The gardeners didn’t start early, which we appreciated. The beach area is absolutely beautiful, with soft white sand, lush green mountain views, and little to no sargassum during our stay. The air conditioning and ceiling fans in the room worked very well, keeping things comfortable. What Needs Work: The property overall is quite run-down. Many areas — including the window coverings, walkways, and buildings — are in need of repair. Gutters had plants growing out of them, and rust was visible throughout. The pool appeared green and uninviting, possibly due to surface discoloration, and the former hot tub has been filled with dirt and turned into a planter. In the room, we found sand on the floor upon arrival, the light and fan in the toilet area didn’t work, and the TV was unusable (we ended up using our own Roku stick). There are no pool or beach towels available onsite — you have to request them at the front desk. Additionally, the rinse-off shower near the beach had very low water pressure and no foot wash area, which probably contributed to the sand tracked into the room. Service at breakfast was lacking. The server/hostess seated us but never returned to the table either day — and the restaurant wasn’t busy, with maybe five tables occupied. WiFi in our room was painfully slow at around 3 Mbps, which made even basic tasks difficult. What to Know Before You Go: • Rooms have a small kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, hot plate, and basic supplies. • The resort is about a 30-minute drive from Christiansted, with patchy cell coverage (Verizon). Download maps ahead of time to be used offline. • Roads are dark at night and very narrow and winding. Driving is on the left side of the road, but cars have U.S.-style left-hand steering wheels. • Drinks at the bar are expensive — a virgin piña colada and a rum and Coke came to $23. Having a rental car and buying beverages offsite is a good call. • The Christiansted boardwalk has great, casual dinner spots with scenic views, chickens wandering around, and large fish looking for scraps near the dock. Food: We only ate breakfast at the resort, which was solid. Omelets were made to order and excellent. Bacon was great, though the potatoes and watermelon were a little dry. My son said the pancakes tasted frozen. The rest of the buffet included scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits & gravy, cereal, yogurt, fruit, grits, and coffee/juice. In town, we had dinner at Shupe’s on the Boardwalk and The Mill Boardwalk Bar Brick Oven Pizza — both were fantastic. Shupe’s food is served to-go style in a paper bag, but the burgers and Cajun fries were delicious. The Mill’s Meat Freak pizza was a hit with both of us. Marriott Titanium Elite Experience: Status was acknowledged. We received free daily breakfast for two (about a $46 value), a drink voucher for two beverages at the bar, and four complimentary bottles of water per day. A late checkout was granted, though only until noon. No room upgrade was offered, even though the resort appeared mostly empty during our stay. Final Thoughts: This was a relatively inexpensive trip, and to some extent, we got what we paid for. The natural beauty of the location is undeniable, and the peaceful atmosphere is a plus. However, the resort needs significant updates to meet the standards typically expected from a Marriott property. If you’re looking for a quiet beach escape and aren’t too picky about the details, it may be worth it — but go in with modest expectations.

  Aug 04, 2025
• 

  Unacceptable Conditions and Rude Staff. Would Not Recommend

  Our stay at Carambola Beach Resort in St. Croix was extremely disappointing. From the moment we arrived, things felt off. The floors in our room were dirty with sand, and the bedding had sand in it as well, which made it clear the room had not been properly cleaned before we got there. The public restrooms on the property were filthy and poorly maintained. The condition of the room was unacceptable. There were stains on the walls from old water leaks, and we were without hot water in the shower for three days. Housekeeping was unprofessional, leaving bags of trash under the stairwells near guest rooms. Clean towels were handed to us in trash bags, which was shocking and unsanitary. The property itself is not well maintained. Sidewalks are cracked and broken, there are large potholes throughout the resort, and the lighting at night is poor, making it unsafe to walk around. My spouse was almost hit by a staff member who was speeding through the property in a golf cart with no lights on. It was a serious safety issue. Staffing across the resort is a major problem. Restaurant and bar staff were rude, dismissive, and clearly untrained in customer service. After waiting almost an hour for food, we were finally told that several items we had ordered were unavailable. On top of that, bar staff were openly cursing and complaining about management and coworkers in front of guests, which was completely unprofessional. This resort has potential, but it is clear that there are serious issues with cleanliness, maintenance, and overall service. I would not recommend staying here until major improvements are made.

  Aug 04, 2025
• 

  BLUF: Overall, not a bad experience my wife and I enjoyed our time here. If staying here recommend renting a car to save $$$ from getting to the resort from the airport, and you’ll save money by being able to have the ability to go get your own food and drinks if need be. Having previously lived on an island, no matter how often pest control sprays you will see bugs occasionally. Expectation management. Status (Ambassador lens): I paid with points and used my nightly upgrade rewards to upgrade from a partial Oceanview to an Oceanview. I am glad I did! As noted below, we had to move rooms for one night and while the room was set up the exact same way, not having the view made a world of difference if having a cool vibe and ambiance is your thing. Breakfast was comp’d which was great because I would not have been eating here if it wasn’t. Everything from the restaurants, etc. gets billed to your room and then taken off at the end. Location: It’s pretty remote which is nice and peaceful. There are a few restaurants 5-10 minutes down the road that are priced pretty decent for what you are getting considering where you are. It's a little dated, but IMO its not as dated as I would have thought based on other reviews. There are 26x building units on the property. When checking in and checking out you can get assistance from the bellhop with moving your luggage via a golfcart to your room. Service: On the first night my wife and I noticed a significant amount of black mold on the ceiling. The front desk was able to move us into another room for the night, and we were back in our original room the next afternoon once they had come cleaned. No issues with the staff making separate accommodations for us. Dining: The mahi mahi sandwich was pretty good with tons of flavor and my wife enjoyed the crab cakes as well. Breakfast, like other reviews have said its pretty steep at $32 for an adult buffet. But I will say the omelet bar was really good, I don’t know about $32 good, but still pretty good. Pool: not used Beach: Great views at the beach and it was an added bonus having chairs that were free for use, although the seaweed was rather bad during our stay. Fitness Room: The equipment is a little older but the dumbbells go up to 75lbs which is pretty good for a hotel gym. There are 2-3x treadmills, a few ellipticals, two flat benches, a leg press machine and a cable machine. Recommend: Buying your own bottled water from Cost U Less or Plaza East. At $3 a bottle that can add up quick!

  Jul 24, 2025
• 

  I read many reviews before I booked this resort so my expectations were indecisive. We arrived and were told our room wasn't ready so we had to wait. Boy was that a joke! The room was extremely outdated and in dire need of renovation. The toilet seat was too small for the toilet, broken and looked like it hadn't been cleaned (see photos I love receipts) the window blinds were dusty and the microwave was missing the plate so they opted to put a regular plate inside instead of replacing it (again see photos). Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is EXTREMELY overpriced. The drinks, food and taxi services they provide. They charge 60$ per person so that's 120$ to leave and an additional 120$ to return. The people that work at the restaurant were very polite but there was a female who worked at the registration desk on 7/22/25 at 12:39 pm when I checked out who has no clue what hospitality means. She was rude, impolite and dismissive. The pool staff, waiters/waitresses and bartenders were excellent. The landscaping is pretty but as a frequent traveler I was disappointed with the accommodations at this resort.

  Jul 23, 2025
• 

  Is this place in the Tropical pacific?

  This place is remote relative to other parts of the island. To say that it's picturesque is an understatement! The Hotel is in an excellent location for snorkeling and scuba diving (shore diving to literally any depth without the requirement of a boat) and is at the trailhead of the most popular hike on the island to the Annaly Bay tidal pools. Notably, Carambola’s beach has been featured in multiple films, including the famous “Looking good Billy-Ray, feeling good Lewis” scene from the Eddie Murphy movie Trading Places, as well as the 1977 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau. Jessica in the dive shop was very helpful.

  Jul 13, 2025